


O Captain! My Captain!

by fiddle_stix



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Angst, Cuddles, Escape, Freedom, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Violence, Rebellion, Softer than it sounds, Space Battles, War Elements, how did i not specify this before?, running away with loved ones IS intimacy, these boys need some love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:28:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27934630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiddle_stix/pseuds/fiddle_stix
Summary: Through the star-filled battlefields and the harshest of training days, Donghyuck has been Mark's only constant. And he intends to keep it that way.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 16
Kudos: 52





	O Captain! My Captain!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SeeTheVision](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeeTheVision/gifts).



> to dear [riah](https://twitter.com/see_thevision)!!! happy birthday!
> 
> i really wanted to give you something for your bday so i could thank you for being such a kind and lovely soul! funnily enough i kept coming back to this story because of you and before i knew it, i was writing it for you. 
> 
> i think you’re OUT OF THIS WORLD (pun intended)! as much comfort as these boys find in the stars, i’ve found in your kindness!! i hope you have an amazing birthday! please accept this fic as a token of my appreciated, with space boys and all!

> 
>     MISSION REPORT:  
>     > 
>     Division: Elite Guard, Captain ID2899, Squad: 001  
>     > 
>     Rebel Forces found breaching item 7A of the Global People's Assembly of Tarnith's Constitution*. The Rebel terrorist's base was infiltrated and dismantled as per request.  
>     > 
>     Terrorist losses were present. All other subjects were brought into custody.  
>     > 
>     Base was overtaken and is now in possession of the Tarnith Regiment.  
>     > 
>     *Item 7A: any member of society seen to be opposing the Regiment or promoting propaganda and falsehoods is permitted to be detained and halted with the use of all means and forces available.  
>     > 
>     

As Donghyuck types up the report with practiced ease, fingers moving subconsciously over the hologram, he tries to forget scenes which were replaying behind his eyelids. The hoster in his hands, the metallic taste of blood on his tongue—in the air—screams filling their surroundings as his blasts hit their targets dead on. 

_It’s just a mission. Just another mission._

The mantra works as well as it had for all the other hundreds of raids their squad had performed. Which is to say: not very well at all.

Pressure on his side snaps him out of his reverie, eyes darting towards Mark next to him and then to the Senior Commander who had just entered the room. Jumping into action immediately, Donghyuck finishes the report before stepping aside to let Mark sign it off as the captain of their squadron.

With a quick beep, the report vanishes from the holoscreen and the two turn to properly face their Senior Commander, keeping their eyes carefully low and hands strictly by their side.

“Elite 6206.”

Donghyuck’s shoulders tighten imperceptibly and he lifts his gaze to rest at a point over the man’s shoulder. “Yes, Senior Commander?”

The man’s expression is as emotionless as always and not for the first time, Donghyuck wonders if there’s even a living, breathing Tarnian under his green skin or if cutting the Commander open would just reveal a mass of interconnected wires and machinery. 

“I take it the mission went well?” the Senior Commander asks.

Donghyuck doesn’t twitch and muscle yet feels Mark tense beside him like a coiled spring. He wishes, not for the first time, that he was able to press into Mark’s side at ease. 

“Yes sir,” Mark replies carefully.

“Good.” Even the man’s words are cold, ice-like, and if Donghyuck wasn’t so used to it, so trained in the art of acting like he was as robotic as the rest of them, then he might have flinched. “As captain of our highest ranked Elite Guard unit, I expect the best out of both you and your team. Failure is not accepted around here.” Mark nods sharply. “Tomorrow you shall train the newest of the Tarnith Regiment forces.” 

Donghyuck’s heart twists painfully at the thought of the new recruits; shaky and nervous, more often than not bruised up and bleeding from somewhere. All torn away from their home planets, unsure if their families are still alive or woken almost every hour of the night—reliving their deaths in their dreams.

It’s a messy affair. To say the least.

“For now, both of you are dismissed.” 

With a deep bow, the two soldiers trudge out of the control room and make their way back to their quarters. Their spines remain sharp and rigid all the way there, until they are enclosed in the safety of closed doors; away from the ever-beady eyed generals and commanders which roam the base. 

Not for the first time, Donghyuck wishes that he had somewhere to truly come home to at the end of the day. Not just a small room on the base, walls kept bare, beds stringently tidy and cabinets empty of anything that truly meant something to him. He wishes for a place to truly call home. Somewhere for him to just _be._

Not that he can remember any sort of home before the one he has now.

**— ☾ —**

Mark’s first memory is with Donghyuck.

He supposes there’s something foggy and indistinct before that, a faint feeling that he remembers some of the youngest recruits of the Regiment forces describing as _family._

 _Home,_ they say as their bite back tears.

Mark only ever gives them five seconds to cry; as a member of the Elite Guard and captain of a squadron he cannot be seen allowing any soldier, cadet or otherwise, to show weakness or vulnerability.

So other than the distant, faded moments, Mark’s memory begins with Donghyuck. 

Donghyuck with his golden eyes and blue tipped fingers, looking like nothing Mark had ever seen before. He didn’t have pointy ears like Mark did or tiny horns peeking out of his hair like the ones that adorned the members of Tarnith. Instead there was a bright smile, a flash of gold in his eyes and fingertips dusted with a smattering of blue—a blue that Mark came to discover looked even prettier when intertwined with Mark’s.

Distinct in his mind, before the harsh training program and uniforms and ID numbers replacing their names, Mark holds his first memories with Donghyuck. A time before the two of them had learnt what it meant to be a part of Tarnith’s Regiment or the horrors their government performed proudly in the name of ‘the law’. 

After living for no more that four or five orbits of his life, Mark can remember somehow escaping from the doctors who spouted too big words and performed test after test after test upon him. He remembers slipping out of their reach for a moment and reaching one of the only windows in the military base. Mark had stood there, tiny and unaware, watching the masses of yellow and green uniforms out on the training fields and the far more fascinating spacecraft which hovered above.

He can’t have been there for more than a minute—although time has become a curious thing over the years—when he was joined by another.

The boy’s shadow had fallen next to his. When Mark glanced up and saw a boy of his age next to him a flicker of excitement had run through him, warm and bright. Everything else had melted away in that moment as something else had taken over, reminding Mark of a place before the Regiment’s base.

“Are you waiting for the sun to set?” the other boy asks after a long moment of them staring at each other.

Mark hadn’t quite been expecting it. He shakes his head. 

“Well you should be! There’s three moons here. Have you seen three moons before?”

Another shake of his head. And then, because Mark isn’t sure what else to say, he blurts out: “I was running away.”

Thankfully, the boy doesn’t look surprised. Instead he smiles, excited. “Can I run away with you?”

Mark likes him instantly. “Of course.”

The boy gives a pump of his fist, sidling over to Mark. “Which ship should we take? I like that one,” he calls, pointing a small finger at one of the big blue ones parked in the yard. It had writing over it that Mark didn’t recognise.

“No, we can’t take that one. They’ll see us right away!”

They continue to argue over which ship they’re taking, only halting when a guard finally stumbles upon them and they’re both dragged roughly back to the cold white rooms to be poked with more needles. But this time Mark has something new bubbling in his chest that’s fierce even against the doctor’s hands. 

This time he has hope.

Even now, more than a decade later, he holds the memory close to his heart, carving out a place for it so it can remain unbreakable.

_“It doesn’t matter, anymore, what ship we would take,” Donghyuck had whispered to him in the early, faded blue hours of the morning years after their first meeting. “Big, small, purple or orange. Hell, we can take a speedster if you like. I don’t care.”_

_Mark had taken the boy’s hand in his, squeezing tightly. “As long as we’re together.”_

_Donghyuck had smiled at him, soft and hopeful, and it was all the answer that Mark had needed._

**— ☾ —**

The alarm rings out, piercing their eardrums.

Even after all the orbits he’s spent on Tarnith, Mark is still startled by the noise, jerking up from his bunk like a spring let go. His uniform slips on like a second skin and before he knows it, he’s marching by Donghyuck’s side, lights blaring red at the edges of the base’s hallway.

He can’t bear to think of those who still lie unaware in their beds: the newest conscripted members of the Tarnith Regiment. If he was less cautious, younger and stupider, he would have shivered. Instead, he keeps his feet moving, on autopilot.

One step, two step, left foot, right. Hands by your side, spine straight. Proper posture is a must and most of all, never _ever_ look them in the eyes. The first time that Mark had made that mistake, Donghyuck had been placed in solitary confinement for three days. He’s never made the same mistake since.

By 0310, almost everyone is lined up in the hall and a squadron has been sent out to collect the latecomers with a strict command to show no mercy to the stragglers. 

While everyone had been shuffling into place, Mark had risked a glance at Donghyuck and managed to catch his gaze. Everything was communicated in a simple look, both of them wishing that they didn’t have to see these kids enduring the harsh training they would all be put through and wishing that the Elite Guard unit wasn’t in charge of overseeing some of the punishments.

The base’s punishments are nothing short of tortuous. 

One could get an extra two hours of practice for accidentally tripping during training, or confinement for failing to make it to their quarters a minute past curfew. Mark had seen new trainees go for days without food for failing to meet targets. The generals and commanders all like to carry around little metal sticks, shocking some recruits just because they feel like it. 

The only difference when it came to Mark and Donghyuck was the recipient. Both of them had been among the youngest recruits when they had been taken from their homes and the bond between each of them was clear. The two were together for almost every milestone they could remember, training as one since the beginning. 

It had become obvious to the officials—when they had each lived about eight orbits—that neither of them minded much about the punishments they received to themselves. A slap across the face they could bare, a day without food they both took within their stride. Neither motivated them to do better.

Until one day, after Mark had failed to beat his best time in the ground training, their commander had turned her stun baton not on Mark, but to Donghyuck instead.

At the look of pain flickering across Donghyuck’s face at the shock, Mark’s blood had run cold. His three hearts strained painfully inside his chest and before he knew it, Mark was back at the start of the track, gesturing for the commander to restart his time.

He had gone to bed with feet rubbed raw that night, still feeling shaky but heartbeats back to normal. Donghyuck had sent him a wide-eyed look while helping him bandage his feet, stealing a rare hug when he was finished. “Mark,” he had whispered against his neck, voice filled with a shared pain.

“I’m okay,” he had tried to promise in return, reaching up aching arms to wrap around the boy’s shoulders. “I’m sorry that they hurt you because of me.”

Donghyuck pulled away to level him with a fierce look. “No. This is not your fault. They’re– they’re the monsters.”

“I–” Mark let out a little sigh. “I don’t like seeing you in pain.”

The next look Donghyuck gave him was incredulous. “You think I enjoy seeing you hurting? It’s horrible. I’d rather they punish me instead than see you in pain.”

“Hey, don’t say that.”

“You know that makes you a hypocrite,” Donghyuck bit back with narrowed eyes. “From what you’re telling me, it seems like you feel the same way. And not to mention what you did today. You were worried about me getting hurt so you put yourself through all those extra laps.”

Mark doesn’t have an answer to that. Especially when they both know that Donghyuck is right. 

The worst of it all is that they aren’t the only ones who seem to come to the realisation. From that day forth the officials started to Donghyuck for Mark’s wrongdoings, and Mark for Donghyuck’s. 

And neither of them could even deny it, as time and time again, they push themselves to the limits just so they don’t see a hand raised against the other.

Mark glances up from his simulation briefly and manages to snag a look at Donghyuck hunched over his own. As if able to sense Mark’s gaze upon him, Donghyuck turns his head to look into his eyes. Mark sees everything he needs to in the golden depths and when he turns back to his hologram he makes sure to hit every single simulated ship that comes his way, _dead on._

**— ☾ —**

The streets are bustling and as loud as always, bright neon lights stark against the grey skies. It’s not often that either of them get to go out into the city. _Or off the base at all for that matter,_ Donghyuck thinks bitterly. 

Nobody bothers them as they move through the crowds. Not with their green uniforms as a clear indicator of their status. 

It’s a simple reconnaissance mission—or a _field trip_ as Donghyuck liked to refer to them in his head. Apparently one of the large corporations had been having some strange dealings with accounts outside of Tarnith that has had the government raising their eyebrows. 

The two had been sent out, as Captain and First Lieutenant of their squadron, to collect information and survey the premises.

To be entirely honest, Donghyuck hopes they don’t find anything. If they do, the mission can get messy quickly and Donghyuck really, _really_ , doesn’t want any more nightmares to add to his vast collection.

While they walk, he takes in the people around him. Tarnith is a strange place, when you really consider it. The Regiment had conquered and destroyed so many planets that none of its population quite looks the same anymore.

Donghyuck’s blued fingers are nothing among the midst of clawed hands and scaled shoulders. Mark’s own pointed ears and dark green hair barely garnered more than a second glance next to an Apinoid sporting three arms and bright pink skin.

The mixture of people and interplanetary beings never failed to catch Donghyuck’s attention, especially not when he recalled the painful way that they had all been brought together and the homes each of them had been ripped away from.

Donghyuck didn’t know if there was a corner of the galaxy that Tarnith hadn’t been able to lay their greedy fingers upon. If there was a place that existed, Donghyuck longed to go there.

On a mission a couple of years back, Donghyuck and Mark had met a being that called himself human and spoke of a place far from their planet, so far that they almost didn’t seem to be in the same universe. In his galaxy, the being told them, there was a little planet he called Earth. 

(Donghyuck remembers being taught about the Milky Way Galaxy back when he was younger, a large spiral of stars all ravelled into one.)

“It’s nothing like here, I can tell you that much,” he’d said with a half-grin. “No horns, no ears, no scales. Not on us at least. A couple of hundred years ago we only just figured out how to travel to our moon, let alone other planets. People from other places, aliens we called them, had never set foot on our planet.”

“How did you get here?” Donghyuck had asked, far too curious. He and Mark had time to spare, travelling through town much like today.

A faraway look passed over the Earthling’s face and a hint of longing coloured his face. “It’s a long story, kiddo, and not one that I want to bother you youngsters with. In short, I wanted to distance myself from there and once I realised that I missed home more than I thought I would… well, by that time it was too late.”

“Were your people at war?” Mark had hesitantly asked next.

“As the old saying goes, there’s always someone fighting somewhere,” the human had replied with a huff. “You’ll be hard pressed to find a place that doesn’t have war boiling somewhere in its midst.” He had gone quiet for a moment, surveying the bar with a thoughtful look.

“Back then I hated it. I used to burn with so much frustration towards them, my country, my people, all of it. I ran so hot that sometimes I was scared that I would end up setting myself on fire in the process. I guess that was why I decided to leave.” A sigh escaped the human’s lips. “Knowing what I know now and seeing what horrors others are capable of…” His eyes flick to the holoscreen above them which was displaying a Tarnith minister celebrating another planet conquered by the government’s forces.

When Mark spoke up next, his voice was softer. “Do you regret leaving?”

A pause. Then a shake of the head. 

“Why not?” Donghyuck had asked before he could stop himself.

The earthling is quiet for a long moment. Then, with something otherworldly dancing in his gaze: “Freedom.”

His voice started low, gaining momentum as he goes and Donghyuck can’t help but be called to it, drawn into his orbit. “I still remember the first time I made it out of Earth’s atmosphere, packed onto a spacecraft with a hundred others who were searching for a way out. I stood on the deck and watched my planet slowly shrink until the expanse of space replaced it entirely; a whole infinite world spread out before me. For what felt like the first time, I could go anywhere, _be anything.”_

Only when the door of the bar had swung open with a jingle, did the earthling pull away from the stars and come back to them. A smile had worked its way onto his face, kind and warm and so far from what Donghyuck was faced with day in and day out at the base.

“That’s a feeling that I could never give up,” the human had said. “And if I’d never left, I never would have known that I could feel it.”

Donghyuck hadn’t been able to do anything but stare at him in awe. Mark must’ve felt the same, because after a moment he’d murmured, “that sounds… it sounds too good to be true.”

The human’s smile had only widened. “I hope, for both your sakes, that one day you get to find out. You look like you deserve a little more freedom in your life.”

His timing had been impeccable, because just as the words left his lips, both Mark and Donghyuck’s communicators had buzzed with telltale notifications. They had sprung to their feet on reflex, Mark already moving towards the door.

Donghyuck’s eyes darted between him and the human still seated at the bar, who had a sympathetic look colouring his pretty features. 

For once Donghyuck ignored the part of him urging him towards the door and allowed himself to steal a moment. He had taken a step towards the bar. “What’s your name?” he’d asked, wary of Mark gesturing for him to hurry along. 

The earthling’s smile hadn’t wavered. “I’m Taeyong,” he had said gently.

“I–” 

Mark was calling out his name now.

“I just–” 

A hint of warning spreads through Mark’s voice. 

“Thank you, Taeyong. For _everything.”_

And then Donghyuck was gone, grabbing Mark’s shoulder on the way and pulling him out of the bar, both of them racing towards the address that had both appeared on their communications—all the while, _freedom_ was making itself a home in his chest, right alongside his _hope._

**— ☾ —**

The call comes in at 2300.

Their mission briefing reads:

> 
>     Task: Elimination  
>     > 
>     One Rebel spacecraft sighted near Lessia. Potentially hostile.  
>     > 
>     Team is permitted to use all forces available to detain and halt the terrorist crews.
>     

Despite its brevity, the note doesn’t fail to make Mark’s stomach churn. If he had it his way noneof his _forces available_ would be used. Ever. But it’s been a long time since anyone around here has cared about letting anyone but the Regiment get their way so he simply straps on his green uniform and follows Donghyuck to the loading deck.

They’re met with Major Choi glaring them down and a small huddle of five people who belong to the First Elite Guard unit alongside Donghyuck and Mark. Mark wishes he knew their names and not just the numbers that they’ve been assigned but they’re not permitted to speak of their birth names—Mark only knows Donghyuck because of how long they’ve both been here.

Even so, they all file onto the fighter craft, ready to fight for a cause that isn’t even theirs.

It’s clear, once they’ve hopped through hyperspace and are beginning to near Lesia, that the Regiment has vastly underestimated the Rebel teams. One spacecraft has somehow mutated into five, and that’s not even counting the flashes of metal he can see hovering in the darkness.

Mark isn’t sure if he’s ever faced worse odds than these. 

But he doesn’t let it show, using his captain-voice to try and rally the squadron. He doesn’t think it works, because one of the girls around his age—7829—keeps casting wary glances out the window. The boy next to her looks downright terrified.

Mark grits his teeth. What he wouldn’t give to have stayed in bed.

They take a little time to plan out a strategy on the drawing board, Donghyuck taking lead and doing what he does best. But his tactical skills are no match when they’re so outnumbered. 

Namely, everything goes to shit. 

Very fast.

The first blast they get out hits its target dead on. But their second isn’t so lucky.

Before they can even think about a third, the Rebel’s hulls are glowing and their ship gets shot with four strikes all at once.

Frantic lights appear across the system.

No matter how fast Mark’s fingers work over the controller board, he can’t seem to get anything to go away. Next thing they know, one of the engines is blown out.

This is a goddamn suicide mission.

“Abort!” he barks into the intercom.

And then he’s on his feet. 

He finds Donghyuck in the hallway and almost stops to let out a sigh of relief that the boy looks unharmed. But they don’t have time so he just grabs Donghyuck’s arm and runs.

Shrapnel is scattered around the hallways and twice they have to duck for cover.

At one point Mark catches himself on a jagged piece of wall and tries to stave off the burn of the scrape by biting his lip. Hard.

They make it to the emergency pods just as the ship rocks with a particularly nasty blast. 

Four of the seven are already gone, with 7829 strapping herself into another.

He shoves Donghyuck down into the nearest one before squeezing in next to him. The pods aren’t technically made for two but Mark would rather level entire craters instead of let Donghyuck out of his sight right now.

It’s a press of a button and the tightening of straps across their chests and one last ruinous shock to the hull of their craft before they’re off—shooting off into the abyss of space as their ship shatters before their eyes.

A choked sort of sound comes from beside him and when he looks over, he sees Donghyuck’s eyes glued to the wreckage. Mark doesn’t hesitate to extract his arm from the harness to clutch Donghyuck.

“It’s okay, Hyuck,” he tries to say but his voice is a little too hoarse and it feels like he’s saying the words from a million miles away.

They sit like that for a long moment, whizzing through space. Mark doesn’t even have the energy to check their coordinates or set a destination. He just holds onto Donghyuck’s hand and lets their spacecraft, the Rebels, _the Regiment_ , become smaller and smaller.

He holds on and tries to breathe.

They’ve survived all these years with only each other to lean on. They can survive whatever shit show this is as well.

All he hopes is that the other four pods that had been missing from the bay were filled with members of his crew. Hopes that even if he never sees them again, they’re safe.

“You’re bleeding,” Donghyuck says an indefinitable amount of time later.

Mark remembers the wall he’d run into. His shoulder throbs now that he remembers it. “It’s not too painful,” he says aloud. Clearly Donghyuck knows him too well to believe it, if the look in his eye is anything to go by.

He fishes around in a cabinet in front of them until he produces a bandage and some sort of spray. “I’ll have to dress it properly,” Donghyuck tells him as he twists around in his seat, “but for now this is the best we’ve got.”

The spray stings but it helps stop the bleeding. Mark winces at the sensation of the bandage being pressed onto his cut but relaxes a little when Donghyuck’s gentle fingers smooth over it.

“You should sleep,” Donghyuck says in a voice just as soft.

Mark doesn’t want to. Adrenaline still clings to his veins and the panic still hasn’t worn off. But fatigue tugs at his eyelids and the blood loss doesn’t help make his limbs feel any less heavy. 

“Come on, just a little shut-eye,” Donghyuck whispers, “I can keep watch.”

But Mark doesn’t need much more convincing because his head has been pulled down onto Donghyuck’s shoulder and careful, blue tipped fingers are running their way through his hair. They rake gently across his scalp and unknot strands of hair and before Mark knows it he’s drifted off.

When he wakes next it’s to a flash of something across the dashboard. Donghyuck’s hands are hovering over it looking unsure and even without looking up at him, Mark knows something is wrong. Underneath his head, Donghyuck’s shoulder feels tense.

“W’a’s goi-ng on?” he asks groggily.

Donghyuck’s fingers hover for a little longer and then retract. “Someone’s attempting to make contact with us.”

“Wha’?” Mark peels himself away from the comfort of Donghyuck’s shoulder to squint at the screen. 

“They’re nearby,” Donghyuck tells him, pointing to the map which displays a little dot just North of them. Mark reaches out for the joystick, pivoting them around until they spot a ship hovering above them about five hundred meters from them.

It’s not too distinct if a little on the larger side.

“Wha’ do you think they want?”

He feels rather than see Donghyuck’s shrug. “They could be more Rebels or Regiment troops. Maybe even a commercial crew.”

Mark’s eyebrows furrow. “Did they send a message when they sent out a signal?”

“Yeah, hold on a sec, let me get it up.”

Donghyuck’s fingers flit over the system and then a box pops up.

> 
>     DO YOU REQUIRE ASSISTANCE
>     

The crease between Mark’s eyebrows deepen. “Huh?”

“They seem to be offering us aid,” Donghyuck says cautiously. “Do you think it’s a ploy?”

Before Mark has a chance to reply another incoming message appears on their screen. When Donghyuck clicks upon it another box enlarges to fill the screen.

> 
>     WE INTEND NO HARM
>     

It doesn’t help in their dilemma much. 

“What should we do?” 

Mark doesn’t have much of an answer to that.

They don’t have too many supplies in the little emergency pod, as they’re not meant for long term use. It doesn’t help that the limited rations provided are only intended for a singular passenger to use. 

There’s also the issue of Mark’s shoulder and the suspicious bandages on Donghyuck’s ankle and exposed forearm that hadn’t been there when Mark fell asleep.

It seems like they don’t have much of a choice in accepting the offer of assistance—be it ploy or genuine.

All it takes is a hesitant response typed out by Donghyuck and then they’re moving up towards the ship, the craft’s lower bay doors starting to open as they grow close.

Nerves start to bubble under Mark’s skin and he shoots a look at Donghyuck. He gets a smile in return, a battle-worn kind of one that nevertheless holds warmth. Mark hopes against the odds that this isn’t going to be the last time he looks into those golden eyes. 

A small crowd greets them in the bay and there's no mistaking the dark orange badges that adorn their jackets. Just their luck to escape one set of Rebels just to fall into the hands of another.

Warily, Mark makes his way out of the small pod, insisting on going first in case someone decides to start firing. The look Donghyuck shoots at him is downright menacing if only weakened by the way he stumbles a little when he stands and puts pressure on his right foot.

Mark curls a hand around the boy’s waist and holds him steady.

Then he glances up to survey the crowd around them.

A tall lady steps forward. Her shoulders are set firmly and clearly she must be a leader of sorts because everyone else seems to be waiting on her move. 

“Hello,” she starts. “My name is Soojin. You’re currently aboard _Aurora_ , a ship belonging to the Resistance’s fleet.”

 _Ah yes,_ the Rebels didn’t like to call themselves Rebels.

“My name is Mark. This is Donghyuck. We’re– we’ve been recently stranded after our last spacecraft became compromised.”

He doesn’t need to say which fleet they were a part of. They’re green uniforms, ripped and dirty as they may be, are statements enough of who they belong to.

“You– why did you contact us?” he manages to ask. Donghyuck’s weight against him is growing slowly heavier. When was the last time he slept?

“You seemed lost,” Soojin says plainly. “I promise there were no ulterior intentions behind it, we really wanted to extend an offer of help. One that is open even now, if you still wish to take it.”

_Wait. Really?_

They’re offering help even though they know that they’re part of the Regiment’s forces? Are their uniforms not enough proof?

“You both look injured,” Soojin continues before he can think of something to say. “And I’m sure you wouldn’t be able to store much food upon that pod. May I interest either of you in some lunch?”

The offer does nothing to help him gain his bearings.

“You’re– lunch–” The crease between his eyebrows returns. “Why are you offering us help?”

Soojin’s smile looks sad. Almost wistful. “Kindness is free. And you both look like you could use some.” It’s all the answer she gives before she’s ushering them over and down a hallway. 

For a second—with the familiar press of Donghyuck by his side and the Regiment seeming lightyears away—Mark dares to let himself have hope. Even if it’s for a moment. 

**— ☾ —**

After their lunch, which had tasted better than anything Donghyuck could ever remember being served at the Regiment, Soojin takes them to an infirmary to have their wounds properly dressed.

By the time they’re done Donghyuck can barely hold his head up anymore. He’s bordering on his thirty ninth hour without sleep and he thinks that Mark can tell; if the way he grips Donghyuck’s waist when they stand up means anything.

The room Soojin leads them too is bigger than their one back at the base. “I’m afraid we have quite a big crew right now and there aren’t any single rooms left. Are you two okay with sharing?”

“More than okay,” Donghyuck tells her. He’d meant to say a simple yes but in his sleepy state the words had found their way out. 

She smiles softly at them both. Donghyuck discovers that despite the formidable set of her shoulders, there are smile lines around the corner of her eyes. It’s comforting in a way that Donghyuck wishes he was used to.

“I’ll let you two get some rest, okay? Let me or any of the others know if there’s anything we can help you with.”

Mark dips into a small bow. Donghyuck would do the same if he wasn’t so worried about toppling over.

“Thank you for your kindness, ma’am,” he says instead. “It means a great deal.”

This time her eyes twinkle softly. “It’s the least we can do. And please, call me Soojin. Ma’am makes me feel older than I already do.”

Donghyuck grins. An outcome like this hadn’t even been on his radar when he had accepted the request for contact.

She gives them one more smile, making them promise to rest well, and then the door is sliding shut behind her.

The only sound that’s left in the room is the quiet hum of engines.

Donghyuck sits down on the bed. Because somehow they made it onto the ship without dying and also because his legs don’t really work anymore.

The fatigue he had been staving off hits him all at once and it’s a wonder that he’s able to hold his head up.

“-hyuck? Hyuck, can you hear me?”

He blinks a couple of times then his eyes focus and he sees Mark crouched down in front of him.

“Hey,” Mark says softly, “are you okay?”

Donghyuck’s brain takes a second to compute the words. “Yeah,” he finally manages to say, reaching up a hand to grasp clumsily at Mark’s shoulder. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“You were gone for a sec there,” Mark says while placing his own hand over Donghyuck’s.

Donghyuck has to blink hard again so that he can keep his eyes open. “I’m jus’ tired.”

“It’s been ages since you slept, you better get some rest. I can keep watch.”

The grip that Donghyuck has on Mark’s shoulder tightens. “No, no keeping watch. You barely slept on the pod. We both need some sleep.”

“But–”

“No buts. They can murder me in my sleep for all I like, as long as I’m asleep while they do it.” It’s meant to be a joke—something in Soojin’s smile is soothing and despite everything Donghyuck’s been taught over the years, he wants to have a little faith—but the crease in between Mark’s eyebrows deepens.

“Hyuck, we don’t know if we can trust these people. They’re Rebel fighters and they know what we are.”

Logically, he’s right. But Donghyuck is not running on a lot of sleep. “If they wanted to attack us, don’t you think they would have done it already?”

“Maybe they’re waiting.”

“Waiting for what?”

“Something.”

Donghyuck snorts. “Very descriptive. I see why they made you Captain.”

“That’s not any way to treat your superiors.”

That calls for an eyebrow raise. “Since when were you my superior, Mark Lee? If I remember correctly, the day that you got appointed you swore to me that we would be equals in all but title.”

“I can never win an argument with you, can I?”

Donghyuck grins sleepily at him. “I would never expect you to. Now less talking and more sleeping.”

Mark hesitates for approximately four point five seconds until Donghyuck decides that’s enough and tugs him up onto the bed. The mattress isn’t massive and it’s a bit of a tight fit but they’ve shared smaller beds back at their base.

With a press of a button beside the bed, they’re encased in darkness.

It’s peaceful. Donghyuck even gets to close his eyes.

The peace lasts about four seconds.

“What do you think they want from us?”

Donghyuck could punch him.

Instead, because he’s feeling nice (and doesn’t have the strength left to properly raise a fist), he turns over and wraps an arm around Mark. Donghyuck hopes his hair is annoyingly ticklish against Mark’s next, it’s what the boy goddamn deserves.

“We can find out tomorrow. For now, who cares. What have we got left to lose?”

Mark takes so long to answer that Donghyuck is almost asleep by the time he finally says it. “You. I could lose you.”

With the minimal strength he has left, Donghyuck shifts up his palm to rest in the middle of Mark’s three hearts. They pulse steadily under his fingertips in a rare moment of unity. “I’m not going anywhere, Mark. I promise.”

And with that, his consciousness finally slips away, missing the promise that Mark whispers into his hair in return. He gets the gist of it though. Donghyuck would promise him the world if he could and Mark has never been good at hiding the fact that he feels the same.

**— ☾ —**

The first couple of days aboard _Aurora_ are littered with introductions and much confusion at the fact that none of the other ship’s residents appear remotely surprised at the quality of the food. Mark isn’t sure what half the food he’s served is called but it never fails to taste amazing.

It’s strange meeting new people for the first time, especially when there’s no expectations upon either of them to train said new person. The first time that Mark calls himself an ex-Tarnith recruit he almost lurches in his seat, looking around warily as if one of his Commanders would spring forth from the wall to punish him. 

But it gets easier every time that he does it, with everyone offering him looks of sympathy or pity—neither of which he knows how to deal with—when he mentions where he’s from.

Introducing Donghyuck, he finds, is another very weird scenario. He’s sitting at a table for lunch when he gets joined by a man and a woman who look only a couple of years older than him. The man has eyes so purple that they’re almost black and the woman has pink scales peeking out from under her collar. When they ask him if the seats are available he doesn’t hesitate to say yes.

“Welcome to the ship,” the man says with a smile. “My name is Johnny.”

The woman beside him smiles. “I’m Sooyoung. It’s a pleasure to have you with us.”

“Uh– I–” Even after three days on the ship, he’s still getting whiplash from the inhabitant’s kindness. “I’m Mark. It’s a pleasure to be here as well.”

Everything goes smoothly for a little while, neither of them raising much of a fuss when he admits that he’s from Tarnith and belonged to one of their crews. When Johnny asks how long he’d been with them he isn’t able to muster more than: “a while… A long while.” 

Sooyoung reaches across to place her hand on his arm; an unspoken comfort. 

“I heard you arrived with another, I haven’t got a chance to meet him yet,” Johnny says after a moment.

“That’s right, yeah I did.” Mark pokes his head up to look around the cafeteria, spotting who he’s looking for almost immediately. “That’s him over there,” he says with a nod towards him. “We arrived on a pod together, Donghyuck and I. He’s my– uh–”

First lieutenant isn’t the right word anymore. Friend doesn’t seem a strong enough word either.

Thankfully neither of them press for an answer. He does see Johnny shoot a look back towards Donghyuck, a flash of understanding in his eyes, but he just offers a warm smile while Sooyoung asks about his favourite things to do on the ship.

It isn’t until a little while later, when their plates have been cleared and they’re starting to get to their feet, that Johnny asks, “did you have a destination in mind? Before you came aboard?”

He says it so casually, almost as if he was asking about the weather and not like the question leaves Mark reeling. If he’s entirely honest, he’s still waiting for the other foot to drop and for all the bravery Donghyuck is showcasing, Mark knows him too well to miss that he feels the same. Nothing in life comes for free and he knows, at some point, that they’re going to have to give payment—in some form—for the hospitality they’ve received.

With all that in mind, he’s not sure what he’s supposed to answer. What is it that Johnny wants to hear?

Eventually he settles for “nothing really set in stone” and hopes that it’s enough.

He finds his way over to Donghyuck’s side, stepping closer than he would normally just to make sure the boy is real. Blued fingertips slip between his, holding tight, as Mark wishes for this peace they’ve found to span an infinity.

But like life has taught him, nothing lasts forever.

A week later they both get an offer to join the Rebels—no, the _Resistance_ —on a mission they have lined up. Tarnith forces have recently begun to infiltrate a nearby planet and Soojin’s crew is planning to drive them away before they settle their roots in deep.

The whole time she’s talking, all Mark can think is _this is it._

Even if she phrases it as a question, Mark doesn’t think of refusing for a second. He remembers one of the particularly nasty Commanders from back on the base, who’d whipped a hand across Donghyuck’s face just because Mark hadn’t answered a question fast enough. He remembers all the times a mission briefing came through, compliance drilled into him. Orders given, no questions allowed.

This time can’t be any different. Phrasing or not.

He inches a little in front of Donghyuck and accepts the command.

This is a chance, a test of their loyalty. He just _knows._ How could it be anything else after all they’d done for them?

**— ☾ —**

Soojin is unconvinced.

Despite the conviction in Mark’s tone, there’s something off about them both. As soon as she asked them if they wanted to join the others, a strange air had fallen over the two, their shoulders looking tense.

She doesn’t miss the way Mark tries to shield Donghyuck. Or the fact that Donghyuck’s knuckles have gone white as his fists are clenched at his side.

But before she can question either of them on it, Johnny calls her over, Ten already at his side. He’s got a map spread out before him on the hologram with a couple of articles too. She takes one last look at the two boys, still standing a little away from the group. The rigid set in their shoulders born from years of practice, a readiness in both of their stances as if they were expecting a fight at any moment.

But Soojin fails to notice the fear that clouds both of their gazes as her attention is drawn back to one of the maps and the Resistance’s offensive strategy. They’ve fought before, she tells herself. The uncertainty still bubbles under her skin.

They all hit the ground running. War, as usual, waits for no one. 

With an undercover team already sent out to warn the locals of their plans, Soojin allows her mind to set its target upon the Regiment forces coming at them.

The resistance might be outnumbered by a dozen or so Regiment soldiers, but none of them give up easily. Soojin has three detained even before her whole crew has stepped off the ship. As soon as one threatens to invade her blind spots, Johnny is right there knocking the soldier back. Sooyoung kicks out their feet from under them, swiping the Regiment gun out of their hands.

After he’s taken care of, they advance further into the town, as more Regiment recruits try to swarm them.

It’s then that something catches Soojin’s attention. There’s a flash of movement she catches in her peripheral and when she turns, it takes her a moment to recognise them. 

Donghyuck and Mark, each suited up in their tactical gear and fighting back to back. If Soojin had more time, she would stop to marvel. They move as a unit, as if there weren’t two separate entities but a body moving as one. No words pass between them but every move still seems calculated, an understanding flowing between the two.

It’s a sight to behold.

If she had more time, that is.

By the moon, is Soojin glad they both fight on their side.

She shoulders her blaster and finally rips her gaze away. One shot takes down the guy who had been advancing on Ten. 

It’s time to take back some stolen property.

**— ☾ —**

Mark is running on pure, nerve-frying instinct. As soon as they make their way off the ship, everything is suddenly and shockingly overwhelming, and in response, his conscious body detaches itself from him. The only real thing he can feel is Donghyuck pressed against his back.

Everything else fades away.

All he knows is the feeling of a loaded blaster in his palm. And the infinitely worse feeling of pulling the trigger.

Hadn’t they run away so they could stop fighting?

No.

No, they have shown him more kindness than he deserves. This is repayment.

Out of the corner of his eye, Mark spots posters plastered over a message board. _Wanted posters._ His face, Donghyuck’s face.

A Regiment blast whizzes past him, only just missing his shoulder.

Every nerve in Mark’s body burns, alive and painful, a thousand stars all on the brink of combustion. And yet it registers in his mind as a far off sensation, as if he no longer inhabited his body and was just watching himself from a distance.

Vaguely he registers the soldiers approaching him, only watches as he and Donghyuck slowly but surely take down every last one like it hadn’t been only a couple of days since they had fought for the other side.

Mark watches himself fight and wishes, hopelessly _wishes_ that there was somewhere in the universe just for him and Donghyuck to live without ever having to lay a finger on a weapon ever again.

**— ☾ —**

The fight feels like it lasts for days, even though they have the last Regiment soldier tied up by sundown. 

Soojin orders the stand down herself by commadering one of the speaker systems. A breath of relief ripples through the Resistance and Soojin can’t help but share their sentiments. 

She sends Johnny and Ten off to corral the locals, Sooyoung and Yuta heading off to check on any of the Regiment fighters they had caught. Soojin hopes that most of them take up the offer of their freedom, because she’s heard far too many disturbing stories about their military bases.

After her central team seems set in order, Soojin heads out to survey the battlegrounds. Towers have been overturned within the struggles and rubble scattered across the ground. She tries to offer a reassuring look—or as close as she can muster—to each passerby.

Soojin is just rounding a crumbled wall when she spots them.

It would be a lie to say that she hadn’t been keeping a look out for them. And yet the sight that greets her is one that makes her chest ache.

Mark and Donghyuck have both sunk to the floor. Mark looks slightly nauseous, whereas Donghyuck just looks blank. It isn’t until she steps closer that she notices that their hands are clasped between them, as if they were holding on to each other for dear life.

“Hey guys,” she says softly, trying not to spook them any further. When they don’t make any sign that they heard her, she continues. “You both fought really well. It’s with you help that we were able to win.”

Donghyuck nods without meeting her eyes, There’s something off about the way that he’s sitting, the faint tremor running through him.

“Are you both okay?”

There’s a strange jerky motion that Mark makes, something that looks practiced and robotic and nothing really like a proper nod. She can’t take it anymore.

“How old are you guys?”

That causes Mark’s gaze to jerk up to her. “I– uh– do you want us to list our details?”

Her eyebrows furrow. “Huh?”

“You asked us our age, you want our informa– We just–” A pause hangs on the edge of his unfinished sentence. Then he points to his chest. “ID Number 2899, Elite Guard Division, Squad 001. Eighteen orbits of Sun Dela.” His finger swivels to point at Donghyuck. “ID Number 6206, Elite Guard Division, Squad 001. Seventeen orbits of Sun Dela.”

“You’re eighteen and seventeen? Fu– holy–” Soojin’s heart suddenly pulses with regret. “We shouldn’t have asked you to come.”

Their eyes snap to her, something like fear in their eyes, as if they’re anticipating that they’ve made some mistake.

“No, not like that– I–” When she finally says her next words, she realises how true they are. “This isn’t your fight, is it?”

“What?” Mark croaks out.

It all comes to her at once as a force crashing over her. Why hadn’t she realised before? “You two have been trained to fight someone else’s war since before you could spell– don’t look at me like that, I’ve heard of the Regiment’s dirty secrets regarding their Elite Guard. By the moon–” she reaches up to run a hand through her matted hair. “I’m sorry we asked you to fight, you should have to be here.” 

They’re both looking at her in shock by the end of her little speech.

She smiles sadly. “If there was one thing you could do right now, one place you could be, where would you go?”

For a long moment she’s met with more stares. Then:

“Here? Fighting corruption and destruction.” The Resistance’s slogan coming from Mark, like a line he’d been practicing in front of the mirror, makes her heart hurt again. She should have guessed that they would see this as some kind of test.

“No, not that. No more war, no more fighting. What if none of it existed? What would you want to do?”

And this time it’s Donghyuck, small and for the first time since she’s met him, something close to how young he really is. “See the stars.”

A little hairline fracture splinters across Soojin’s heart at the hope in the boy’s voice. “Yeah?” she asks softly. “One in particular?”

“Any of them,” he whispers, gaze fixed some place past her shoulder. “I don’t need a destination. I just want to see the stars.” His smile is small but just as infused with hope. “If I could travel the universe while knowing there was nowhere else I had to be then I want that. That’s my dream.”

Mark smiles. “Freedom.”

“Freedom,” Donghyuck murmurs back.

By the stars, Soojin has never hated Tarnith more. Here are these two boys, barely even of age. Two boys who have had a storm of violence hiding behind their eyes want to explore space, galaxies, universes. To be free. How precious.

In that moment, Soojin makes her decision.

**— ☾ —**

Donghyuck has had to say goodbye to many things during his lifetime. The little he remembers from his home planet shows him scenes of anguish after being ripped from someone’s arms. There were many faces that cycled through the Regiment base in all his years there, too many for him to remember names but close enough to him that each wore down on his heart, making it all the more heavy.

No goodbye, however, had felt quite like this.

Johnny and Sooyoung wrap each of them in a warm hug, wishing them well on their journey ahead. Yuta claps a hand on Donghyuck’s shoulder with a knowing look fizzling in his gaze while Ten offers them a smile infused with kindness. Then there’s Soojin, standing in the middle of the half circle Aurora’s crew members have created.

Soojin who has offered them a room in her home, who refuses to hear any of their offers for repayment, and who has just gifted both of them a chance at freedom.

And as it turns out, just like Donghyuck had said all those years ago, it really doesn’t matter what ship they take. _Big, small, blue or orange, speedster or not._ It doesn’t matter.

All that does matter is that when Donghyuck glances across the controller board of the starship—now _their_ starship—it’s Mark Lee who sits at the helm beside him. 

It’s Mark who he gets to explore the expanse of space with, Mark who twines his fingers through Donghyuck’s blue ones and holds tight, Mark, with eyes full of twinkly stars, who kisses him softly in the early hours of the morning.

(The first time Mark had kissed him, their breaths intermingling and both of them growing greedy for more, it had taken a full minute for Donghyuck to remember how to be a person and not a supernova.)

The universe was laid out before them, for once theirs to take. 

> 
>     MISSION REPORT  
>     > 
>     Division: Unspecified, Captain: Unspecified, Squad: Unspecified  
>     > 
>     Mission Objective "be free" has been successful. Happiness acquired.
>     

**Author's Note:**

> and so this fic is finally out of my brain and into the world!! i hope you've come out the other side loving the universe a lil more <33
> 
> [twt](https://twitter.com/fiddlestyyx) | [tmblr](https://fiddle-styx.tumblr.com/)  
> 


End file.
